Scott Ludlam (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

asked the Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research, upon notice , on 4 April 2011:

With reference to the development of alternative sources of medical isotopes: what work is currently being undertaken by the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) to develop sources of medical isotopes other than in nuclear reactors; if none, why.

Kim Carr (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The answer to the honourable s enator's question is as follows:

A combination of radioisotopes made in research reactors, such as OPAL, and those made in cyclotrons are required to service all of Australia's nuclear medicine, research and clinical development needs.

Molybdenum-99 – which decays into technetium-99m, the most widely used isotope in nuclear medicine globally – can only be efficiently produced in a research reactor such as OPAL. Technetium-99m is used to image the brain, thyroid, lungs, liver, spleen, kidney, gallbladder, skeleton, blood pool, bone marrow, heart blood pool, salivary glands and detect infection. Approximately 30 million procedures using technetium-99m are performed worldwide each year.

Radioisotopes produced in a reactor are not limited to technetium-99m. Other radioisotopes, such as samarium-153 to relieve the pain of bone cancers, yttrium-90 for liver cancer therapy and iodine-131 to treat thyroid cancer, can also only be efficiently and economically produced in a reactor, such as the OPAL research reactor – an iconic part of our landmark infrastructure for research and innovation. Over 80 per cent of the radioisotopes used in medical procedures worldwide come from reactors. Once radioisotopes are produced, in either a reactor or cyclotron, they are processed in a radiopharmaceutical facility, like the production facility at ANSTO Health.

In November 2010, the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) published a report examining alternative technologies for the production of technetium-99m. The report indicates that non-reactor technologies are still some time away from fruition, and expresses strong doubts as to whether they could ever substitute for reactor technologies.

A copy of the report can be found at: http://www.oecd-nea.org/med-radio/reports/Med-Radio-99Mo-Prod-Tech.pdf.

In June 2010, an article entitled: 'The options for the future production of the medical isotope 99Mo' was published in the European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging. It concludes that:

"Reactors will therefore remain necessary for the foreseeable future. The best way to secure the supply of 99Mo for the more than 30 million patients each year is to build new research reactors to replace the old ones and to ensure sufficient total production capacity worldwide."

A copy of the article can be found at: http://www.springerlink.com/content/k10048817586w494/.

In addition to the production and development of essential reactor-produced radioisotopes, ANSTO, as a vital part of the scientific and medical research community, is also undertaking a substantial amount of work regarding the development of medical isotopes in cyclotrons. In this regard, ANSTO has extensive collaborative and partnership arrangements with various medical research institutes and universities for the further development of cyclotrons around Australia for basic and translational research, clinical studies and small-scale clinical trials.

ANSTO has a number of established and developing collaborative arrangements regarding research cyclotron facilities, including:

These arrangements are intended to enhance Australia's research cyclotron capabilities and expertise generally, train nuclear medicine practitioners, and provide isotopes to the nuclear medicine community and the Australian research community.

The government has a strong commitment to Australia's accelerator research and innovation community. ANSTO, the Australian Synchrotron, the Australian National University and the University of Melbourne established the Australian Collaboration for Accelerator Science, which leverages the strategic investment of $85 million we have made. This includes collaboration with the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) on the next generation of high energy accelerators. Minister Carr was able to visit the research facilities at CERN in March.

Complementary to the above collaborations and partnerships, as part of its 2010-15 research and innovation strategy, one of ANSTO's key priorities is the development of a national network and community of cyclotron users. To this end, on 15 December 2010, ANSTO hosted the first meeting of cyclotron users from across Australia, bringing together 38 people from 9 different universities, hospitals, commercial providers and research institutes for a one day workshop aimed at strengthening partnerships and creating greater collaboration between cyclotron operators dispersed across Australia. It provides an essential forum for the sharing of information and experiences related to the operation of cyclotrons, which will ultimately lead to the more effective exploitation of Australia's national cyclotron infrastructure, increased pre-competitive collaboration, and better and more systematic education and training.

In addition to the above research initiatives, ANSTO currently manufactures cyclotron-produced radioisotopes for use by Australian patients through its wholly-owned subsidiary, PETNET Australia Pty Limited (trading as PETNET Solutions). The PETNET twin cyclotron facility, located at ANSTO's Lucas Heights campus, produces 18-flurorodeoxyglucose (18-FDG) which is used in Positron Emission Tomography (PET) medical imaging. 18-FDG enables doctors to detect diseases such as cancer in their earliest stages and precisely monitor treatment.

ANSTO is a partner with Cyclotek (Aust) Pty Ltd, the Melbourne based commercial cyclotron company, and other participants, in the Cooperative Research Centre for Biomedical Imaging Development where a number of new F-18 labelled compounds are under development for future application in health care.

ANSTO also imports cyclotron-produced isotopes, Iodine-123, Thallium-201 and Gallium-67, through ANSTO Health, for supply to the nuclear medicine community on a commercial basis.

In summary, ANSTO has a balanced and progressive portfolio of reactor-produced (neutron-rich) and cyclotron-produced (proton-rich) radioisotopes, and a growing set of collaborations and partnerships to ensure effective deployment of these radioisotopes in research and clinical settings, as would be expected of our national nuclear science and technology organisation.